The first major tennis tournament of the year suffered a major blow on Friday when Spain’s men’s world No. 1, Carlos Algaras, announced his withdrawal from the Australian Open with a right leg injury.
algaras, A 19-year-old phenomenon With an acrobatic and all-court game, she won her first Grand Slam singles title at the US Open in September in often spectacular fashion.
His A four-set win over Casper Rudd The final was the impetus for a breakthrough season and catapulted him to the top of the men’s rankings, but Algaraz has since struggled with his health: pulling out of the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy and the Davis Cup finals. Malaga, Spain, with an oblique muscle tear in the left abdominal wall.
Despite taking part in an exhibition in Abu Dhabi last month, he has not competed in an official event since retiring in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters in early November against another talented 19-year-old, Holger Roon. Algaras returned to his training base in Villena, Spain to recharge and rehabilitate for the 2023 season. He said in a social media post on Friday He injured the semimembranosus muscle in his right leg during training.
“I’ve worked really hard to be at my best for Australia,” he wrote in a Twitter post, announcing his withdrawal from next week’s exhibition near Melbourne and the Australian Open, which starts on January 16.
“It’s hard, but I have to hope, heal and look forward,” she wrote.
Algarez’s withdrawal would mean the Australian Open would be without a No. 1 player in men’s singles for the second year in a row, albeit under completely different circumstances.
Last year, Novak Djokovic arrived in the country unvaccinated for the coronavirus and was deported from Australia ahead of the tournament after losing a protracted and high-profile legal battle with the Australian government.
But Australian government policy has changed and now allows unvaccinated foreigners to enter the country even without an exemption. Djokovic, a nine-time Australian Open singles champion, returned to Australia this year and has received a warm welcome so far en route to the semi-finals of the premier tournament in Adelaide this week.
